Foundation '' in
Roman Italy The first known hominid settlements in the Nice area date back about 400,000 years (
Homo erectus); the
Terra Amata archeological site shows one of the earliest uses of fire, construction of houses, as well as flint findings dated to around 230,000 years ago. Nice was probably founded around 350 BC by colonists from the Greek city of
Phocaea in western
Anatolia. It was given the name of
Níkaia () in honour of a victory over the neighbouring
Ligurians (people from the northwest of
Italy, probably the Vediantii kingdom);
Nike () was the
Greek goddess of victory. The city soon became one of the busiest trading ports on the Ligurian coast; but it had an important rival in the Roman town of
Cemenelum, which continued to exist as a separate city until the time of the
Lombard invasions. In 1543, Nice was attacked by the united
Franco-Ottoman forces of Francis I and
Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha, in the
Siege of Nice; though the inhabitants repulsed the assault which followed the terrible bombardment, they were ultimately compelled to surrender, and Barbarossa was allowed to pillage the city and to carry off 2,500 captives. Pestilence appeared again in 1550 and 1580. A plebiscite was voted on 15 and 16 April 1860. The opponents of annexation called for abstention, hence the very high abstention rate. The "yes" vote won 83% of registered voters throughout the county of Nice and 86% in Nice, partly thanks to pressure from the authorities. The irregularities in the plebiscite voting operations were evident. The case of Levens is emblematic: the same official sources recorded, faced with only 407 voters, 481 votes cast, naturally almost all in favor of joining France. The Italian language, which was the official language of the county, used by the Church, at the town hall, taught in schools, used in theaters and at the Opera, was immediately abolished and replaced by French. Discontent over annexation to France led to the emigration of a large part of the Italophile population, also accelerated by Italian unification after 1861. A quarter of the population of Nice, around 11,000 people from Nice, decided to voluntarily exile to Italy. The emigration of a quarter of the
Niçard Italians to Italy took the name of
Niçard exodus. Many Italians from Nizza then moved to the Ligurian towns of
Ventimiglia,
Bordighera and
Ospedaletti, giving rise to a local branch of the movement of the
Italian irredentists which considered the re-acquisition of Nice to be one of their nationalist goals.
Giuseppe Garibaldi, born in Nice, strongly opposed the cession to France, arguing that the ballot was rigged by the French. Furthermore, for the niçard general his hometown was unquestionably Italian. Politically, the liberals of Nice and the partisans of Garibaldi also appreciated very little Napoleonic authoritarianism. Elements on the right (aristocrats) as on the left (Garibaldians) therefore wanted Nice to return to Italy. Savoy was also transferred to the French crown by similar means. In 1871, during the first free elections in the county, the pro-Italian lists obtained almost all the votes in the legislative elections (26,534 votes out of 29,428 votes cast), and Garibaldi was elected deputy at the
National Assembly. Pro-Italians took to the streets cheering
"Viva Nizza! Viva Garibaldi!". The French government sent 10,000 soldiers to Nice, closed the Italian newspaper
Il Diritto di Nizza and imprisoned several demonstrators. The population of Nice rose up from 8 to 10 February and the three days of demonstration took the name of "
Niçard Vespers". The revolt was suppressed by French troops. On 13 February, Garibaldi was not allowed to speak at the French parliament meeting in Bordeaux to ask for the reunification of Nice to the
newborn Italian unitary state, and he resigned from his post as deputy. The failure of Vespers led to the expulsion of the last pro-Italian intellectuals from Nice, such as Luciano Mereu or Giuseppe Bres, who were expelled or deported. The pro-Italian irredentist movement persisted throughout the period 1860–1914, despite the repression carried out since the annexation. The French government implemented a policy of
Francization of society, language and culture. The toponyms of the communes of the ancient County were francized, with the obligation to use French in Nice, as well as certain surnames (for example the Italian surname "Bianchi" was francized into "Leblanc", and the Italian surname "Del Ponte" was francized into "Dupont"). Italian-language newspapers in Nice were banned. In 1861,
La Voce di Nizza was closed (temporarily reopened during the Niçard Vespers), followed by
Il Diritto di Nizza, closed in 1871.
20th century In 1900, the
Tramway de Nice electrified its horse-drawn streetcars and spread its network to the entire
département from
Menton to
Cagnes-sur-Mer. By the 1930s more bus connections were added in the area. In the 1930s, Nice hosted international car racing in the
Formula Libre (predecessor to
Formula One) on the so-called Circuit Nice. The circuit started along the waterfront just south of the Jardin Albert I, then headed westward along the
Promenade des Anglais followed by a hairpin turn at the
Hotel Negresco to come back eastward and around the Jardin Albert I before heading again east along the beach on the Quai des États-Unis. As war broke out in September 1939, Nice became a city of refuge for many displaced foreigners, notably Jews fleeing the Nazi progression into Eastern Europe. From Nice many sought further shelter in the
French colonies, Morocco and North and South America. After July 1940 and the establishment of the
Vichy Regime,
antisemitic aggressions accelerated the exodus, starting in July 1941 and continuing through 1942. On 26 August 1942, 655 Jews of foreign origin were rounded up by the Laval government and interned in the Auvare barracks. Of these, 560 were deported to
Drancy internment camp on 31 August 1942. Due to the activity of the Jewish banker
Angelo Donati and of the Capuchin friar
Père Marie-Benoît the local authorities hindered the application of anti-Jewish Vichy laws. The first
résistants to the new regime were a group of high school seniors of the Lycée de Nice, now , in September 1940, later arrested and executed in 1944 near
Castellane. The first public demonstrations occurred on 14 July 1942 when several hundred protesters took to the streets along the Avenue de la Victoire and in the Place Masséna. In November 1942 German troops moved into most of unoccupied France, but Italian troops moved into a smaller zone including Nice. A certain ambivalence remained among the population, many of whom were recent immigrants of Italian ancestry. However, the resistance gained momentum after the Italian surrender in 1943 when the German army occupied the former Italian zone. Reprisals intensified between December 1943 and July 1944, when many partisans were tortured and executed by the local
Gestapo. American paratroopers entered the city on 30 August 1944 and Nice was finally liberated. The consequences of the war were heavy: the population decreased by 15% and economic life was totally disrupted. In the second half of the 20th century, Nice enjoyed an economic boom primarily driven by tourism and construction. Two men dominated this period:
Jean Médecin,
mayor for 33 years from 1928 to 1943 and from 1947 to 1965, and his son
Jacques, mayor for 24 years from 1966 to 1990. Under their leadership, there was extensive urban renewal, including many new constructions. These included the convention centre, theatres, new thoroughfares and expressways. The arrival of the
Pieds-Noirs, refugees from Algeria after 1962 independence, also gave the city a boost and somewhat changed the make-up of its population and traditional views. By the late 1980s, rumors of political corruption in the city government surfaced; and eventually formal accusations against Jacques Médecin forced him to flee France in 1990. Later arrested in
Uruguay in 1993, he was extradited back to France in 1994, convicted of several counts of corruption and associated crimes and sentenced to imprisonment. On 16 October 1979, a
landslide and an undersea slide caused two
tsunamis that hit the western coast of Nice; these
events killed between 8 and 23 people.
21st century In February 2001, European leaders met in Nice to negotiate and sign what is now the
Treaty of Nice, amending the institutions of the European Union. In 2003, local Chief
Prosecutor Éric de Montgolfier alleged that some judicial cases involving local personalities had been suspiciously derailed by the local judiciary, which he suspected of having unhealthy contacts through
Masonic lodges with the defendants. A controversial official report stated later that Montgolfier had made unwarranted accusations. On 14 July 2016, a truck was
deliberately driven into a crowd of people by
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel on the
Promenade des Anglais. The crowd was watching a fireworks display in celebration of
Bastille Day. A total of 87 people were killed, including the perpetrator, who was shot dead by police. Another 434 were injured, with 52 in critical care and 25 in intensive care, according to the Paris prosecutor. On 29 October 2020,
a stabbing attack killed three people at the local
Notre-Dame de Nice. One of the victims, a woman, was beheaded by the attacker. Several additional victims were injured. The attacker, who was shot by the police, was taken into custody. The
Islamic state claimed responsibility for both attacks. In 2021, the city was proclaimed a
World Heritage Site by
UNESCO as "Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera". == Architecture ==